Information for International Students
Finding a host family
Living with an Australian host family during your stay at Ormeau Woods SHS is a great way to experience the Australian lifestyle and culture. Our International Student & Homestay Coordinator, Tanya Capra, will place you in one of Ormeau Woods SHS’ host families. During your time with us you will be placed with a caring and supportive family, close to our school and only 30 minutes to both the busy metropolis of Brisbane and the beautiful beaches of the Gold Coast.
Living with an Australian family also allows you to enhance your English skills and make lifelong friendships and connections.
How are homestay families selected?
The welfare of our International students at Ormeau Woods SHS is a top priority for us at all times. To ensure our International students have a wonderful and memorable experience during their stay with us, all of our Homestay Families are carefully selected by our International Student & Homestay Coordinator and are screened by a police and criminal history check to ensure they are a suitable host family for our program.
Introducing yourself
We know from experience that the placement of your host family is one of the most important aspects of your program, this is why our International Student & Homestay Coordinator encourages our future International students to write a letter of introduction to their prospective host families, so she can do her best to place you in the most suitable and compatible homestay family.
This may be a family with common interests and hobbies or perhaps a host sibling of a similar age to you or a family that can cater for your dietary requirements or individual needs.
Support
Should our students experience any concerns in the homestay, our International Student & Homestay Coordinator will assist you with the matter so it can be resolved.
It is normal to feel uncomfortable at the beginning in your new host family, but our Ormeau Woods SHS host families are here to support you and make you a part of their family and educate you about our Australian culture and lifestyle.
So it is important you also try to make an effort in your family to fit in and become a valued family member.
Things to consider
Here are some helpful hints to consider:
- Always speak English
- Learn about our Australian culture and try new things - even vegemite!
- Share information and facts about your culture to educate your host family
- Make Australian friends
- Offer to help out in your Homestay with household chores or tasks
- Go on outings with your host family when you can
- Tell the host family about your day each night at meal times
- Make the most of every opportunity
- Always be respectful
Students
Haruka Suzuki, Japan
I had great time here. On the first day of school, I was so nervous because I didn't have confidence in my English skills. But some classmates and teachers helped me go to the classroom and study in each class. I remember I was so glad to talk to everyone in English. In addition, this school has Japanese classes, so I could help my classmates study Japanese. I think it was great experience that we helping each other. Some of my classmates and me also interacted with students from Japanese tour groups. We had great time with them, and it is very good opportunity to experience different cultures for both of us. I hope the school to continue this program. I also join some music bands and I was impressed that students enjoy instruments freely. I think it's good thing that everyone has opportunities to experience some instruments. I'm going to back to Japan and graduate my school there. The experiences in this school would be helpful in my future. I'd like to come back to Australia and see my friends and teachers in the school.
Camila Paffaro de Almeida Hervat, Brazil
My experience here in Australia was incredible, with ups and downs and I had different types of feelings and emotions. I first was with an older couple and I felt alone and lonely so I requested them to change my family and that's when everything was perfect. A family of a super attentive and loving single mother with 4 charming children, two girls and two boys, one of them in the same year as me, who helped me a lot making more friends and getting closer to more people at school, I found myself I was surrounded by incredible friends who always helped me with everything, friends that I will keep for the rest of my life. At school everything was always very good, the teachers always gave me extra help and understood that because I was an international student I might have more difficulty in the subjects, but without exception all the teachers were very attentive.